Gordon Gekko

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DEFINITION of 'Gordon Gekko'

A fictional character who played the villain in the popular 1980s Oliver Stone movie Wall Street. Gekko's character, a ruthless and wildly wealthy investor and corporate raider, has become a cultural symbol for greed, as epitomized by the famous Wall Street quote, "Greed . . . is good." For his portrayal of Gekko's character, Michael Douglas won an Oscar.

INVESTOPEDIA EXPLAINS 'Gordon Gekko'

Gekko's character was not specifically based on any real-life person, but is said to have been loosely modeled on junk-bond king Michael Milken, who went to prison on racketeering and fraud charges. Gekko's greed monologue is said to be based on a real-life commencement speech Ivan Boesky gave at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1986.